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Book cover of Thwonk
Teen Fiction

Thwonk

by Joan Bauer
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Overview

Imagine having a personal cupid—an actual winged being—pop into your life and offer to make your dreams come true. The catch is he can help you in only one way: artistically, academically, or romantically. That's what happens to aspiring photographer Allison Jean (A. J.) McCreary. A. J. knows she should concentrate on getting into a top-notch art school. But she's spent five torturous months obsessed with handsome hunk, Peter Terris. Just one shot from the cupid's bow and thownk, A. J. will have the undying devotion of handsome Peter...forever.

A cupid doll comes to life and offers romantic assistance to A.J., a teenage photographer suffering from unrequited love.

Synopsis

Imagine having a personal cupid—an actual winged being—pop into your life and offer to make your dreams come true. The catch is he can help you in only one way: artistically, academically, or romantically. That's what happens to aspiring photographer Allison Jean (A. J.) McCreary. A. J. knows she should concentrate on getting into a top-notch art school. But she's spent five torturous months obsessed with handsome hunk, Peter Terris. Just one shot from the cupid's bow and thownk, A. J. will have the undying devotion of handsome Peter...forever.

Publishers Weekly

An honest-to-goodness cupid turns A.J.'s life upside-down. "Bauer's buoyant narrative will elicit chuckles as it delivers its message (thwonk!) with the accuracy of a well-aimed arrow," said PW. Ages 12-up. (June)

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

An honest-to-goodness cupid turns A.J.'s life upside-down. "Bauer's buoyant narrative will elicit chuckles as it delivers its message thwonk! with the accuracy of a well-aimed arrow," said PW. Ages 12-up. June

The ALAN Review - Teri S. Lesesne

A.J. is faced with a dilemma: how can she best capture the spirit of Valentine's Day when her love life is such a dud? Enter Jonathan. No, Jonathan is not the love of A.J.'s life; he is her own personal Cupid. When A.J. directs Jonathan to fire his arrow at the object of her affections, one Peter Terris, the results are somewhat different from what she anticipates. Part romance, part fantasy, part coming-of-age novel, Thwonk is totally wonderful reading. As she proved so ably in Squashed, Bauer has a talent for creating characters who manage to survive the angst of adolescence. Teachers and librarians would do well to recommend large doses of Bauer to those readers of Sweet Valley High and other similar series books. Bauer offers readers more than boy-meets-girl romance fare. Here are likable, rounded characters brought to life by gentle humor and realistic dialogue.

Children's Literature - Tim Whitney

Seventeen-year-old Allison Jean (A.J.) McCreary has two immense passions in her life: her photography, in which she displays great promise, and handsome hunk Peter Terris, who barely knows that she exists. But life changes for A.J. when she discovers Jonathan, her personal cupid, late one night about a week before Valentine's Day. A.J. is allowed only one wish, and Jonathan can help her either artistically, academically, or romantically. Against Jonathan's advice and her own better judgment, A.J. asks Jonathan to help her with Peter to have a date for the King of Hearts Dance just six days away. One shot with cupid's arrow and thwonk, A.J. has the loving devotion of handsome Peter forever. She soon realizes that what she has wished for isn't what she truly wants. Adolescent girls will relate well to A.J.'s dilemma and enjoy this humorous story with an ending that is not so obvious to predict.

School Library Journal

Gr 7-10-This silly, offbeat novel warns all readers: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR! A.J. McCreary, photographer extraordinaire, lovelorn, and invisible to school hunk, Peter Terris, is unable to capture a fitting cover shot for the school paper's special Valentine's Day edition. Then, she stumbles upon a stuffed cupid who comes to life and offers her one of three alluring choices: artistic, academic, or romantic assistance. In spite of the cupid's vehement protests against the last and his admitted previous failure in the arena of teen love, A.J. follows her heart. After Peter is smitten, and her date for the King of Hearts dance is secure, she finds that his slathering, abject devotion and unrestrained attention embarrass her, and that he is boring. Like Ellie in Bauer's Squashed (Delacorte, 1992), A.J. is a witty, intelligent protagonist whose fresh perceptions of her peers keep readers chuckling. In the end, a brilliant newspaper cover shot convinces her former-filmmaker father of her talent and makes the novel's ultimate statement about young romance. Thwonk revels in the vagaries, insecurities, and uncomfortable realities of teen love.-Alice Casey Smith, Monmouth County Library Headquarters, Manalapan, NJ

Book Details

Published
June 1, 2005
Publisher
Penguin Group (USA)
Pages
224
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780142404294

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